September 2005 Newsletter

Editorial

Editorial Now that the summer is drawing to a close,
all our members are back at work both within the clubhouse, and
in their various places of employment. Next month see a visit from
America of two people who are here to carry out a Accreditation
of our clubhouse, if you are a member of our clubhouse, we need
your help with our Accreditation. We welcome all our new members,
and it is great to see Pierce on the road to recovery. Finally,
don’t forget our weekend away in Killarney on the 14, 15, and 16th
of October. We also welcome Ian, to the clubhouse as a permanent
member of staff.

. We are busy preparing for the upcoming visit by
Steve and Jack who will be here on behalf of the International Centre
for Clubhouse Development [ I. C. C. D], based in New York. The
purpose of this visit is to ascertain if we at Platinum Clubhouse
are running the clubhouse in line with the internationally agreed
standards which are a guide for Clubhouse around the world. The
possible outcomes of this visit are as follows; Certificate awarded
with a return visit in three years Certificate awarded with a return
visit in one year A suggestion to re-apply for another certification
visit. This will be our second accreditation visit having successfully
undergone one previously when we received an accreditation certificate
with a return visit in three years. We have finished preparing a
self-study where we looked at all areas of Platinum and through
discussions with staff and members, pointed to our positive points
and also some areas that could be improved. Thankfully, this process
is now complete. We look forward to seeing many members over the
next few weeks, and a successful visit.

Tom

Osprey Hotel and Spa

On Thursday 11th August 5 members
and two staff went to the Osprey Hotel and Spa in Naas. We had two
treatments each one was a massage and the other was a facial, or
a manicure. We had a light lunch and then that evening. We had a
beautiful meal in the Mash restaurant. We also had the use of the
Leisure Centre. Six of us stayed the night. I found the experience
really amazing as I never had a massage or facial before. I feel
we all enjoyed the experience.

Social Calender

Regular office hours are taken up
with the business of running the Clubhouse, so any social activities
take place in the evenings and /or weekends. The focus of the
social programme is to offer a range of supports to help members
to access facilities in the community.

Sweet Memory

Skin as white and pure as fresh
snow, When I needed comfort and counsel I knew where to go. This
person represented a time and a place in space, Free from worry,
stupidity and full of respect and grace. She saw the qualities
that were strong in me, She brought them into consciousness and
set them free. I was wild, adventurous, fit and able, And it was
once said that we were like peas in a pod, Never quite realized
what we had. From time to time I think of what might have been,
Yet nobody can allow for life’s tricks; ‘Youth, love, drugs, booze,
clubs, music, the buzz’, Everything we had valued faded and fuzzed.
Brian

Farmers Wife's Omelette

Preparation time 5 minutes you will
need… 1 large onion 2 tomatoes, peeled 1 oz. macaroni small shapes
4 rashers streaky bacon 1 oz. butter 4 eggs Cooking time 10 minutes
salt and pepper to taste 4 tablespoons peas, cooked Peel and chop
the onion. Peel and roughly chop the tomatoes (see quick tip below).
Cook macaroni as directed on the packet. Grill bacon rashers until
crisp. Meanwhile, using a strong 8-inch frying pan, fry the onion
in the butter until golden. Whisk eggs with 2 tablespoons cold
water and season to taste, pour over the onion. Sprinkle over
the peas, chopped tomatoes and macaroni. Cook gently, stirring
the centre and loosening the edges with a palette knife until
set. Put under a hot grill for 1 minute. Serve in quarters, each
topped with a crisp slice of bacon. Serves 4.

Quick Tip

To peel tomatoes: place Tomatoes on kitchen fork
and Hold over high gas jet until skin Pops. Keep turning Alternatively,
put tomatoes in basin, cover with boiling water, Leave for half
a minute only.

Championship Update

Championship Update. The All Ireland
series in football is soon to reach its climax with quarter
final matches down for decision over the coming week ends. As
with the Hurling only one or two teams have any chance of winning
the trophy. The juiciest tie for me is the meeting of Cork and
Kerry. For me the winners of this match is certain to go on
and win the Sam Maguire Trophy. Kerry shall be raging hot favourites
going into this match having already beaten Cork in the Munster
final. Cork however I feel have improved in the interterm and
a very close match is anticipated., don’t rule out a shock here.
Dublin and Tyrone meet in another O. F. match and me despite
being a Kildare man shall be rooting for the Sky blues in this
one. Primarily, because northern football is dour, uninspiring
and not very ease on the eye. Dublin are workman like and I
don’t fancy them to go all the way. Armagh are Ulster Champions
and are a very physical outfit and shall probably overpower
Laois. In Hurling, Kilkenny look nailed on to win the McCarthy
cup, with Galway in with an outside chance. Looking back at
the Leinster Championship, teams like Kildare, West Meath, and
Meath seemed to have sunk further and further into a black hole.
At the moment the future for all these teams look bleak to say
the least.

Pierce

Handy Tips-
Tip of the Month

Fly-killer Mix half a teaspoon black pepper,
1 teaspoon brown sugar and 1 teaspoon cream, and leave the mixture
in a saucer in the kitchen

My Holiday in Spain

I am just back from 10 days in a Spanish villa
with a tan and a fit body after swimming at the pool and beach and
playing tennis every day. My sister Liz and her two children Luke
and Teresa were great company and my Mum and Dad organised everything
perfectly. After we had our dinner out every night Colin (my brother)
and me made good use of having every single channel on satellite,
we chose a movie most nights and had a laugh. My Dad Liam was my
partner in tennis and we played on 3 different types of court including
Clay, Savannah and hard court. After each match we went swimming
in the local pool and had coffee or a sandwich in the poolside bar.
My brother (Bill) and his wife Emer have just joined the rest of
my family in Spain for a final four days; Bill will be all right
on the plane as he is a helicopter pilot.

Waterford

Michael and myself Philip, went for a few days holiday
in the McEniff Hotel in Waterford. The meals in the hotel were lovely,
as were the staff of the hotel who were very helpful and nice to
us. Waterford is a city with a unique place in Irish History, for
a good number of years Vikings made homes in and around the city.
Then a man called Strongbow, made a deal with a local chieftain,
that he would protect the city from the Vikings in return for the
chieftain daughter hand in marriage. By the way, Vikings brought
the rabbit to Ireland. We learned this on a visit to the local history
museum. Waterford is a city with some lovely shops, we got a lovely
hair cut done by three angels. We were also lucky myself and Michael
to back a winner each. One of the big tourist attraction in Waterford
is when they lift the bridge across the river Suir, to let boats
up and down the river. At night in the hotel there was music . One
evening we went to the hotel gym, Michael done a few exercises on
the machines, I did too and had a good lie down after it. All in
all, we had a good time, our only regret is our visit to Waterford
was far too short. By the way, the weather was good.

Transitional Employment Programme
(TEP)

A major component of the Clubhouse is Transitional
Employment Programme (TEP). TEP offers each member the chance to
go to work in a paid, part-time entry level job and to stay in that
job for approximately six months. Members chose the level of support
and involvement they want from the Clubhouse.

Disclaimer:
The views, opinions and beliefs expressed in this newsletter are not
necessarily the views of Platinum Clubhouse. Any articles, items or
pictures in this newsletter may only be reproduced following permission
from Platinum Clubhouse.

Contributors:Breda, Lydia, Robert, Paddy,

Editorial team: Breda,
Carmel, Ian, Patricia,

Any articles, items or pictures in this newsletter
may only be reproduced following permission from Platinum Clubhouse.